The use of cooperative learning at the college level was studied by investigating whether different instructor intervention approaches would affect the achievement of college students using cooperative learning methods. Subjects were 97 undergraduate elementary education majors enrolled in three sections of a curriculum course at the University of South Florida (Tampa) College of Education during the second semester of the 1990-91 academic year. Nineteen learning teams were formed and randomly assigned to treatment conditions as follows: (1) directions and materials provided, but no instructor assistance (control group); (2) instructors provided advance organizers; and (3) instructors met with groups after sessions to answer questions and provide assistance. All treatment groups read the same materials and followed a similar schedule of activities. A pretest was followed by a posttest and an attitude questionnaire after the 2-week period. On the posttest, the control and follow-up discussion groups had nearly identical mean scores, with the mean for the advance organizer group more than two points higher. Students liked the cooperative learning situation, believed they learned the materials well, and preferred instructor assistance to the control condition. Results suggest that advance organizers may yield greater learning than do follow-up discussions. Five tables present study findings, and a 17-item list of references is included. (SLD)